HugoW's weird and slow 1.6 / 1.8 (non-)VVT DIY project
 

Hi,

I bought an NB this summer, solid body but the engine is old and uses a lot of oil. I presume valve stem seals, but it also has 255k km under its belt so it will also be general ware. The clutch is weak. The gearbox is surprisingly tight and the motor is still relatively powerful. But I want a turbo... But I'm actually not looking for heaps of power. I want around 200 whp, just to be able to enjoy the back roads and p**s off other road users, Mercs and Bimmers mostly.

Via some advice from a fellow Dutchman I recently opted to ditch the 1.6 and go for a low mileage1.8 VVT. With the small turbo I have (Garrett GT2554R) this should spool quickly and give a very nice linear torque curve. I will Speeduino the lot, but more on that later. Yesterday I collected the motor I bought, it is a complete set with gearbox, wiring, and a ton of other bits and bobs. Tonight I pulled the exhaust manifold cover off and started the work. I made a wooden jigg to show where my DIY manifold needs to go; it will need to go from the exhaust ports, through the turbo, to the flange I jigged. Yes, I will make a small log manifold myself. With my low-power/quick-spool plans, that makes the most sense.

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Next is suspending the turbo on a wooden support in a logical position, and all that is left then is to weld the gaps shut!

Cheers,

Hugo

Well, I told you Iit would be slow... I meanwhile rebuilt half the house but I did get some stuff done on the project. I decided to buy a cheap cast manifold, which fits reasonlably well, which only leaves me the down pipe. I started on that:
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My Mig welder gave up, the wire feed stutters and the gas valve jitters, so I fear the rest will need to be welded at (and hopefully by) a good friend who is a professional welder.

So, see you again in a year's time, or maybe / hopefully a bit sooner.

Hugo